NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Jimmy Blewett has many reasons to be thankful.
He’s thankful for his family, he’s thankful to be back in a race car this week at New Smyrna Speedway during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing and, perhaps most important, he’s thankful to still be alive.
A serious health scare last year caused by diverticulitis, a dangerous inflammation or infection in the digestive tract, resulted in multiple surgical procedures and a near-death experience that left the seven-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race winner counting his blessings.
“It’s been tough,” Blewett said. “It was a huge test for me in life, but I had a great group of people supporting me throughout the way. It made that easier for me. Having my wife and family by my side throughout everything and all the guys in the racing community, the countless times that I received messages and phone calls. It was daily, just people checking to make sure I was OK.
“It’s been an adjustment. I’m back to normal now, and I feel normal now, but you also have that thought in the back of your mind that at any given moment life can change.”
Blewett explained he hadn’t felt quite right for more than a year, but each time he went to a doctor, he was given a clean bill of health. That changed in October of 2024, when during a trip to North Wilkesboro Speedway he began to feel pain in his lower left side. The pain was swiftly followed by a fever.
That’s when he knew something wasn’t right.
“I had a small infection in my lower intestines and didn’t realize it,” Blewett said. “It would start to heal itself and get bad, then start to heal itself and get bad. I never knew I had it, because you can’t see it unless you get tested for it.
“I was on my way to North Wilkesboro, and the team was there getting ready to race. On my way down, I started to feel some pain in my left side, and then that was followed by a fever. I knew when I had the fever and the pain something was wrong, because I’d never had a pain like that before.”
Blewett canceled his plans and went back home to New Jersey to see his doctor. He was diagnosed with diverticulitis.
As it turns out, the condition runs in Blewett’s family. His older brother, the late John Blewett III, suffered from the same ailment prior to his passing in a crash in 2007.
Blewett was told a surgical remedy was his best course of action. However, what should have been a smooth and simple procedure did not go as planned.
“I spent a couple weeks in the hospital and got healed up, but ultimately they had to remove the piece that was bad,” Blewett explained. “That piece was removed, and the doctor came out and said, ‘Surgery went well.’ We were excited.
“Not long after that, I started feeling off again. Where they reconnected everything, I wasn’t getting the blood flow I needed, because they had to cauterize some blood vessels when they removed the piece (of his intestine). I developed a leak because it wouldn’t seal, so I went sceptic and pretty much almost died.”
Jimmy Blewett during practice for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour opener on Saturday at New Smyrna Speedway. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
Blewett ended up back under the knife, and his recovery timetable went from a few weeks to nearly a year. Multiple surgical procedures followed, but now, other than a large scar running from the middle of his chest to his waist, Blewett is completely healed.
He credits Modified Tour team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr., who was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 but has since gone into remission, for motivating him to keep fighting.
“I’ve never told him, but he showed me that no matter how bad it gets, just claw through and keep believing and keep that positive attitude,” Blewett said. “I kept that mindset. When I was in the hospital, he stayed in contact with me every day, and he helped me really get through it.”
While he healed, Blewett spent a lot of his time mentoring his son James as the younger Blewett continued his own racing journey. However, Jimmy and his wife Katie have made a point not to make their son’s life all about racing.
Instead, they want to find a balance so the newest member of the Blewett racing family can enjoy everything life has to offer.
“We changed the direction on how we did it with James. With my brother and I, it was strictly pressure, and anything less than a win was no good,” Blewett explained. “With James, racing was just every single thing in our life forever, and it’s still a huge portion of it. But I also want him to experience life itself.
“We do a lot of other things besides racing. We try to go camping when we can. I’m doing it slowly with him. We go when we can go. We don’t try to do 100 races a year. We go when we can go. He’s getting better and better every time he gets behind the wheel for as minimal experience that he has. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
“But most of all, what we race for is to make the memories as a family.”
While he continues to spend a lot of time thinking about his son’s future, the 45-year-old Blewett hasn’t hung up his helmet just yet.
On Saturday he made his return to the Modified Tour for the first time since 2023 aboard the No. 2 Gershow Motorsports Modified, the first of four to six Tour races he hopes to enter this year. He also hopes to help his son make his first Tour start later this season.
After everything he went through, Blewett plans to make every moment with his family and every lap count.
“I’m back together. I feel great. I’m excited to be back,” Blewett said. “This is the best medicine anybody could get, coming to a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race.”
Young late model ace Timothy “Mini” Tyrrell prevailed in the inaugural Ram “Race for the Seat” reality TV show to earn the final full-time ride for Kaulig Racing in the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Tyrrell, 21, bested 14 other drivers to earn a season-long opportunity in Kaulig’s No. 14 Ram entry, beginning Friday at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He joins Daniel Dye, Brenden Queen and Justin Haley as the team’s four full-time drivers, while Kaulig’s fifth truck features a rotating cast of competitors in its Free Agent Driver Program.
“I’m just overwhelmed. Winning ‘Race for the Seat’ is something I never in a million years figured would happen,” Tyrrell said in a team release. “I came into this hoping to learn a thing or two, grow a bit, and see if I could hang with a bunch of great drivers. I’m thankful from the bottom of my heart for my family, for everybody who’s been in my corner, and for Ram and Kaulig Racing for this opportunity — taking a chance on a kid that comes from grassroots racing and elevating me to a professional level. I’m gonna work my tail off to make everybody proud.”
Hailing from Manassas, Virginia, Tyrrell has competed full-time in the CARS Tour since 2019 with 88 total starts. He banked three victories in 2025, including a $50,000 payday with a win in the Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway.
But to earn the ride with Kaulig and Ram, Tyrrell had to prevail through a series of challenges — both on and off the track — over eight episodes. He defeated dirt modified driver Carson Ferguson in the season-finale to secure the seat for all 25 races in the highly anticipated Truck Series season. As a consolation, Ferguson will drive the Free Agent Driver Program truck in October at Martinsville Speedway.
Veteran crew chief Bruce Cook will pair with Tyrrell for his rookie NASCAR campaign. Cook most recently called the shots for Halmar Friesen Racing part-time for the No. 62 Toyota Tundra, but he has been a national series crew chief since 2008.
All eight episodes of “Race for the Seat” are available to watch on YouTube with re-runs also airing on FS1 and FS2.
When Justin Haley departed Kaulig Racing at the conclusion of the 2023 season, he looked to further his career. Just over two years later, he returns to the organization as it embarks on the challenge of welcoming back a manufacturer to NASCAR: Ram.
Chris Rice, chief executive officer for Kaulig Racing, credits Haley for elevating its Cup program as the first full-time driver in 2022. Now, Haley is squarely in charge of being the leader of the debuting NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team.
“It fell right in our lap to get Justin back in-house,” Rice told NASCAR.com. “He helped us build our Cup program when we didn’t have a lot, and now, he’s going to help us build our truck program. He will be the one that puts the pressure on us to get better.”
Getting the nod as Ram’s manufacturer team was a tall task for Kaulig. It meant hiring new employees and adjusting roles for others from its successful 10-year stint in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The organization now has four buildings on its campus in Welcome, North Carolina, home to its newly built trucks, fabrication shop and NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolets.
Between building trucks, hanging bodies and 3D printing, Kaulig has stayed plenty active throughout the offseason. Rice, who has held a multitude of roles within NASCAR, considers the five-truck start-up team the biggest obstacle he’s faced yet.
“For someone like Ram, Stellantis and Dodge to be behind us, Matt Kaulig will jump through fire to get to do it,” Rice said. “I’m all in to make sure it happens.”
With a pair of drafting-style venues to kick-start the 2026 campaign, followed by the Truck Series’ debut on the streets of St. Petersburg, Rice doesn’t believe Kaulig will know where it truly stands in the pecking order until deep into the season, signaling June or July. Ram drivers won’t even have access to the manufacturer’s simulator until late April, Rice said.
That’s no stress for Haley, though, having spent the previous four seasons battling the sport’s best in Cup. His resume reads 341 total national series starts, highlighted by eight victories, including a trio of checkered flags during his lone full-time Truck Series season in 2018 with GMS Racing.
“I haven’t allowed myself to think about expectations for the year,” Haley said. “I think it’s obvious with my experience and how many races I’ve done in NASCAR that I feel like we should be competitive no matter where we’re at or how good our trucks are. We may go out and be good and surprise ourselves, or it might be really bad, and we have to slowly work on it.”
Admittedly, Haley was “caught off guard” when Spire Motorsports didn’t renew his contract for the 2026 Cup season. He had multiple stints with the blossoming organization, banking the team’s first victory in the big leagues in 2019 at Daytona International Speedway. He rejoined Spire on a full-time basis as part of a rare in-season trade with Rick Ware Racing for Corey LaJoie late in the 2024 season.
Turmoil hit Haley and the No. 7 team after nine races in 2025 when championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers departed the team. Haley scored one top five and two top 10s across the campaign.
“I really wasn’t expecting it,” Haley said. “You take a step back, and I had a lot of options and a lot of people that called me. Being with Matt Kaulig and Kaulig Racing for so long, having to leave to try to keep my career going was a tough decision. Business is a big part of racing.
“I went out there and tried my best, did everything I could, and the cards didn’t fall our way more times than not. I feel like I was at the top of my game, doing everything I could. It’s a tough series; it’s a tough sport. I don’t really have a comment because I don’t know what to think of [last] year. I allowed it to escape my brain.”
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Haley leaned on AJ Allmendinger, one of his racing mentors, when assessing his next landing spot. The easy decision was returning to Kaulig, a place he’s treasured over the years. His first full-time race back with the organization will occur in the Truck Series season opener at Daytona on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“This is something that I’m going to have a lot of pride in and hopefully build,” Haley said. “I want to do nothing more than to win Ram’s first race at Daytona. I’ve been daydreaming about it. It’s a win that I want to get badly because it’s the only series I haven’t won at Daytona. To get to win in all three series at Daytona has been my racing bucket list item that I’ve thought about and something I want to accomplish.”
Bouncing between three different organizations in as many seasons, and then reuniting with Kaulig, Haley considers the last few years “strange.” But he kept strong relationships with Kaulig and Rice before returning.
There is a potential pathway back to the Cup Series for Haley. But he also believes that by starting a family with his wife, Haley, it could be a sign to race less. He will occasionally fire up the dirt modified, having spent the last two weeks at Volusia Speedway Park.
The objective for Kaulig is to bring a new manufacturer to the Cup Series and reside as its key-partner team. This is the opportunity the organization has been waiting for since forming in 2016.
“I’m excited that when they do tell us they want to go Cup racing, let’s go and figure it out; let’s make it happen,” Rice said. “I’m ready to rock.”
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 2026 season opener at Daytona has a different buzz to it.
A new manufacturer will debut. Grassroots superstars are earning their first major national series opportunities. NASCAR Cup Series aces line the field. A Hall of Famer makes his highly anticipated return to NASCAR.
Is it possible that Friday’s Fresh From Florida 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) features the most stacked field ever in over 30 years of Truck Series competition?
Here’s what we’re keeping an eye on ahead of 100 heart-stopping laps on the high banks of Daytona, and how the kickoff race will set the stage for a thrilling 2026 campaign.
Many drivers return to their seats occupied during the 2025 season, but a few significant contenders from a year ago shift into new rides.
Most notably, Kaden Honeycutt takes over the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, which was piloted by Corey Heim for the last three years. Heim shifts into a part-time ride at the Cup Series level with 23XI Racing, but his departure leaves a significant void in the Truck Series as he drove to a record 12 victories and the championship. Honeycutt, meanwhile, ran the full 2025 schedule with three different teams and took over Halmar Friesen Racing’s No. 52 entry in August after a dirt modified injury to Stewart Friesen. The 22-year-old from Texas led the team to the Championship 4 and ultimately finished third in driver’s points. Friesen expects to return to race action for the first time at Daytona.
Additionally, Ty Majeski pivots to ThorSport Racing’s flagship No. 88 Ford after three-time champion Matt Crafton stepped away from full-time racing. Majeski spent three seasons in the No. 98 truck and earned the 2024 championship by winning three races. Jake Garcia moves over to the No. 98 machine, and rookie Cole Butcher will wheel the No. 13 Ford for all 25 races.
For the first time since 2013, Ram is competing in NASCAR, partnering with Kaulig Racing for five entries in 2026. Of those five, four are occupied by full-time drivers:
Daniel Dye in the No. 10
Brenden “Butterbean” Queen in the No. 12
Mini Tyrrell in the No. 14
Justin Haley in the No. 16
Three of the four drivers are familiar faces to the Kaulig organization. Dye piloted one of Kaulig’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series entries in 2025, and Queen, a former CARS Tour Late Model Stock champion, also made five O’Reilly starts with the team. Haley previously spent several years under the Kaulig banner, running three full-time O’Reilly seasons and two Cup Series seasons from 2019-23.
Tyrrell, the final driver just announced on Friday, won Ram’s ‘Race for the Seat’ reality TV show competition, outlasting 14 other drivers over a series of on and off-track events. The 21-year-old is a longtime CARS Tour veteran.
Kaulig’s fifth entry, the No. 25 Ram, is under the Free Agent Driver Program, where the team and manufacturer land a rotating cast of drivers from all forms of motorsports. Hall of Famer and three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will drive at Daytona, making his first NASCAR start in nearly 10 years since his retirement at the end of the 2016 season. Stewart previously owned Stewart-Haas Racing in the Cup Series and currently competes in NHRA’s Top Fuel division.
Announcements for competitors in the Free Agent Driver Program will come closer to each specific race, but setting the tone with Stewart will certainly be tough to top.
Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images
Other big-name drivers in the field
In addition to Stewart, a mix of Cup Series regulars and other notable motorsports icons help shape a loaded field at “The World’s Most Famous Beach.”
Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek, a 13-time Truck Series winner, will drive the No. 62 Toyota for Halmar. Additionally, Spire Motorsports drivers Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar will pilot a pair of Silverados for the team at Daytona, driving the Nos. 7 and 77, respectively. McDowell is the 2021 Daytona 500 champion, and Hocevar, fresh off a contract extension into the next decade, commences a 13-race slate in 2026. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., another former Daytona 500 winner, will make his series debut in Niece Motorsports’ No. 45 Chevrolet.
Corey LaJoie will additionally enter the event with Henderson Motorsports. The former full-time Cup Series driver — and current “Stacking Pennies” host — continues his Truck Series swing from 2025, when the 34-year-old North Carolina native raced in nine contests and tallied three top fives and seven top 10s with Spire Motorsports.
X Games legend Travis Pastrana will drive Niece Motorsports’ No. 42 Chevrolet, and internet personality Cleetus McFarland (aka Garrett Mitchell) will attempt the race in the No. 4 Chevrolet. Pastrana ran the full O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule in 2013 and made the Daytona 500 with 23XI Racing three years ago. McFarland is scheduled for his series debut, and the 30-year-old Florida native made four ARCA Menards Series starts in 2025.
Toni Breidinger and Rackley WAR will team up for a partial schedule in 2026, and the 26-year-old California native will begin that slate in Daytona as pilot of the No. 27 Chevrolet.
How Daytona sets the tone for The Chase — and who could contend?
Friday’s race in Daytona Beach kicks off a new era for the Truck Series, and for the first time in its history, The Chase postseason format will determine the champion come November.
Eight of the top 10 drivers from last season’s standings return to Trucks in 2026:
Ty Majeski (2nd)
Kaden Honeycutt (3rd)
Tyler Ankrum (4th)
Layne Riggs (5th)
Grant Enfinger (7th)
Chandler Smith (8th)
Daniel Hemric (9th)
Jake Garcia (10th)
Keep in mind that under this new format, race winners collect 55 points instead of 40, putting an additional premium on finding Victory Lane. That said, with Daytona opening the season and another drafting track in EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) to follow, an early-season victory for a full-time driver could go a long way toward positioning for The Chase.
But to succeed in The Chase, consistency as equally important. Of returning drivers from a year ago, Riggs had the best average finish at 9.1, followed by Majeski (9.8), Ankrum (10.8), Smith (11.8) and Hemric (11.9). Excluding Heim, Front Row Motorsports teammates Riggs (three) and Smith (two) are the only drivers who banked multiple victories in 2025. So by combining winning with consistency, the blue oval duo immediately rises toward the top of potential 2026 contenders. And if Majeski can return to his winning ways after a shutout 2025 season, that creates three surefire candidates for the championship come Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
Ankrum, Hemric and Gio Ruggiero each scored wins in 2025, and throw Honeycutt and the Ram trio into the mix, we could be looking at one of the most exciting championship battles in Truck Series history.
Twenty-five races make up the 2026 calendar, and with a star-studded field expected to hit the track in the opener, Daytona will set the tone for a highly anticipated Truck Series season.
Rise and shine: The 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is upon us. With a new-look driver field, fresh tracks on the schedule and a different postseason format, the 2026 campaign should be an exciting one from start to finish.
So how does the field shake out heading into the season opener on Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)? Great question — NASCAR.com’s John Crane ranks the top 10 drivers ahead of the new season.
Analysis: After Riggs just missed out on a chance at the 2025 title (he finished fifth in the final standings), year No. 3 in the Truck Series will look to be the season when the 23-year-old North Carolina native takes off. Riggs enters the season as the returning full-time driver with the most 2025 wins (three), and with a fresh extension in tow, there’s an opportunity for redemption … and perhaps a championship crown.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
2. Ty Majeski, No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford
Analysis: As the 2025 title runner-up, Majeski, too, is looking for a redemption of sorts, and not solely because he couldn’t defend his crown. After all, the 2024 Truck Series champion went winless in 2025, and while his 9.8 average finish was a career best, his 199 laps led were a career low compared to his three other full-time campaigns. Majeski’s consistency, paired with the new postseason format, should bring plenty of intrigue, but even still, a trip or two to Victory Lane would certainly be preferable, especially doing so during his inaugural campaign in ThorSport’s flagship No. 88.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
3. Christian Eckes, No. 91 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet
Analysis: Following a full-time stint with Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2025, Eckes returns to the full-time ranks of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, where, from 2023-24, Eckes frequented Victory Lane. Consider this: Eckes’ nine Truck wins since 2021 rank second in the circuit during that span (Corey Heim, 23). In other words, Eckes’ immediate P3 placement in this ranking installment is warranted, and he should certainly return to championship contention in 2026.
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
4. Kaden Honeycutt, No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota
Analysis: Competing for three different teams and two different manufacturers in 2025 culminated with the 22-year-old Honeycutt finishing third in the championship standings. His most success came in the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota, which Honeycutt raced over the final eight contests of the campaign in place of injured Stewart Friesen. Enter 2026, where Honeycutt will have peace of mind in racing for only one team … and perhaps the team with the most pedigree. Honeycutt takes over the same machine Corey Heim wheeled to 12 victories — not to mention the 2025 title — and the upside is gigantic for the Texan.
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
5. Chandler Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Analysis: In what was his first full-time Truck Series season since 2022, Smith’s 2025 had plenty of highs and lows, starting the year off by finishing no worse than 17th over the first 10 races with two victories in that span (Bristol, North Wilkesboro). The final 15 races of the campaign didn’t bring the same success, but even still, an eighth-place finish in the final standings provides a sturdy building block going into Year 2 with the team.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
6. Tyler Ankrum, No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet
Analysis: Ankrum achieved two milestones in 2025. He first snapped a 130-race winless drought via his Rockingham Speedway victory in April. Second, he utilized that victory to a playoff berth and eventual Championship 4 appearance, finishing fourth in the final standings. Continuing momentum from a steady finish in 2025 — finishing no worse than 20th over the final 11 races — will be critical. Finding Victory Lane again will, too.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
7. Justin Haley, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Ram
Analysis: Ram officially enters the NASCAR racing fold once again, and Haley will be tasked to help give the manufacturer a steady foot week in and week out as it gets re-accustomed to the full-season grind. Haley is the perfect flagship driver for the operation; he comes over from the Cup Series and has won in all three national circuits. The cherry on top? Though Haley’s last full-time Truck season came in 2018, he won three races and finished third in the final standings that year. Ram could find its footing quickly.
James Gilbert | Getty Images
8. Giovanni Ruggiero, No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota
Analysis: Though he missed out on the 2025 postseason, Ruggiero’s inaugural season proved fruitful, winning at Talladega Superspeedway in October and claiming Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. The 19-year-old enters 2026 with plenty of optimism, and by returning to the No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota, the familiarity is there, too. Combine that with his capability at different track venues (Ruggiero tallied top 10s at superspeedways, intermediates, short tracks and road courses) and the sky could be the limit.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
9. Daniel Hemric, No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet
Analysis: There were plenty of ups and downs for Hemric in his return to full-time Truck Series racing for the first time since 2016. He won at Martinsville Speedway for his first career Truck Series triumph and made the postseason. But on the other hand, he bowed out in the Round of 8 and finished the final three races of the season with results of 34th (Talladega), 31st (Martinsville) and 33rd (Phoenix). In other words, there are things to improve upon for Hemric in his second year with the organization.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
10. Grant Enfinger, No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet
Analysis: Enfinger has been a mark of consistency in Trucks over the years, with finishes of seventh or higher in the final standings in seven of the last eight seasons. Last year, however, was his first winless season since 2021. While the top-five and top-10 totals were still stout (seven top fives and 14 top 10s), his 12.2 average finish was also the lowest since 2021 (12.4). Round it all up, you have a driver who will likely still be in the hunt, but questions still remain.
